"That's typically German" Günther Jauch praises Thomas Gottschalk - and lashes out at his critics

In Oliver Pocher's review of the year, Günther Jauch reminisced about Thomas Gottschalk's TV farewell - and criticized the malice following his appearances.

In Oliver Pocher's review of the year, Günther Jauch looked back on Thomas Gottschalk's TV farewell. In this context, the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" host had unequivocal words up his sleeve for all those who had previously criticized Gottschalk.

In a few weeks, the year 2025 will be history - time to look back on the past twelve months. To this end, Oliver Pocher has invited guests to the Admiralspalast in Berlin. One of the guests at the retrospective, which was not broadcast on TV, was Günther Jauch. The TV presenter took the opportunity to address one of the most important television moments of the year: Thomas Gottschalk's departure from the TV stage.

Some of the makers of "Denn sie wissen nicht, was passiert" had been "really shaking" before the show, Jauch revealed according to "Bild". "Are we going to do it live or are we going to record it?" was the thought. The "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" presenter explained that there was only one person who didn't let the hustle and bustle get to him: "The only one who took it pretty casually was Thomas that evening."

"You should never take his word for it"

Thomas Gottschalk, who is suffering from cancer, had actually announced before the RTL show that it would be his final appearance on the big TV stage. However, he did not want to retire from the public eye just yet, the show host announced on Instagram shortly afterwards. Pocher therefore asked Günther Jauch whether he believed his long-time companion would finally retire from TV. "You should never really take that from him," Jauch replied.

But at the moment, his health is his top priority, which is why the 69-year-old added: "Most of us just can't comprehend what an illness like this means for you, what the uncertainty means, how it will all end and what the next examinations will be like." According to Jauch, the fact that no one is immune to cancer is particularly treacherous: "The fact that it has now also hit the eternal lucky child of German television shows that anyone can get it."

Günther Jauch defends Thomas Gottschalk

Meanwhile, the RTL star found it sad that Gottschalk had come under such criticism after seemingly disoriented appearances at the Bambi and Romy awards. "It's typically German that some people should simply be shot up so that they then make a better target to write down or put down," Jauch criticized.

The TV star continued: "What I find remarkable is that when people are really, really sick and admit this to the outside world and you basically don't know how the whole story is going to end, this gloating doesn't stop at all." For him personally, one thing is clear: "If I had someone like that at home, I wouldn't want to have much to do with them."